Dad placed on bond after shaking and shouting at five-month-old daughter during cafe outing

Allison Harding, Frankston Standard Leader

December 1, 2016 1:15pm

A STRESSED-OUT new dad repeatedly yelled at — and then angrily shook — his five-month-old baby in front of horrified Seaford cafe patrons, a court has heard.

Upset onlookers who called police, reporting the baby girl was red-faced and screaming, later tried to block in the man’s car so he couldn’t leave the scene.

But the 39-year-old father drove away with his baby and five-year-old son after paramedics checked the infant, who was not injured.

Police then went to his home, where he was detained for a family violence order, and later interviewed.

The Carrum Downs man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty yesterday to one count of unlawful assault. He walked from court on a good behaviour bond.

Magistrate Clive Alsop, who said many parents had struggled to cope with unsettled children — including himself — said the “spectre” of the bond would hang over his head for two years.

“It might seem like a slap over the knuckles with a wet tram ticket — but it’s not,” he warned the man.

“If you breach this, you will return and it will be a very unpleasant experience.”

The man was supported in court by his wife, who said he was a responsible and loving father.

Lawyer Angelina Centrone said her client had long-term mental health issues and was overwhelmed on the day of the assault.

“He acknowledges he was not coping on that day at all,” she said.

Prosecutor Senior Constable Ross Treverton said the man — who had never before been in trouble with police — had taken his children to the Spanish Bar Cafe on Sunday, August 28, to allow his wife to rest after several difficult nights with the unsettled infant.

Sen-Constable Treverton said the man became increasingly agitated as the baby started crying, then screaming.

He put the baby in the pram, then pushed and rocked it along the street, saying “stop crying, stupid baby” and “this has got to stop”, the court heard.

“One witness described him holding the baby away from him and shaking the baby, causing its head to thrust back and forth,” the prosecutor said.

After he returned to the cafe, the man again shouted and shook the baby.

Sen-Constable Treverton told the court that an assault on a child was a serious offence, and general deterrence was an important consideration in sentencing.

The magistrate told the man he acted entirely inappropriately but accepted he had serious mental health problems and had sought help.